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Baby Keem feat. Kendrick Lamar — “family ties”
Baby Keem is teaming up with Kendrick Lamar on his newest single, “family ties.” After tossing out a brief snippet of the song and video, raising anticipation for the collaboration, Keem and Dot go back-and-forth on the new release.
Keem wastes no time thanking Kendrick by using his childhood nickname. “I’m grateful to Man Man, he opened up doors / A bunk on the tour bus to come and compose,” he raps on the track. “I reached to the stars on my tippy toes.”
For his part, Kendrick has his eyes set on a fiery return to the scene. “2021, I ain’t takin’ no prisoners / Last year, y’all fucked up all the listeners / Who went platinum? I call that a visitor.” Later, he adds: “Smokin’ on top 5s / Motherfuck that album, fuck that single, burn that hard drive.” This comes shortly after Lamar announced his next album will also be his last on TDE.
Kendrick and his longtime associate Dave Free announced pgLang as an “at service company” last year. “pgLang is multilingual,” the company said in a statement at the time of the announcement. “Our community speaks music, film, television, art, books, and podcasts— because sometimes we have to use different languages to get the point of our stories across.”
To go along with the new banger, Keem unleashed the song’s music video. Directed by Dave Free, the fast-paced motion picture of a video features a cameo from “Wild Side” singer Normani. Listen to “family ties” and watch the visual below.
BTS feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “Butter (Remix)”
BTS continues to dominate the global music market with “Butter.” The song — which has soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — now has an official remix featuring Megan Thee Stallion.
Meg takes this opportunity to flex her own worldwide fame and overall prowess on the track. “Houston’s finest in a room with bosses / Make ‘em all get ratches in their suits and blouses,” she raps on the track. “I remember writing flows in my room in college / Now I need global entry to the shows I’m rockin’.”
Produced by Rob Grimaldi, Stephen Kirk, and Ron Perry, the remix also includes ad-libs from Megan elsewhere on the track.
Meg reportedly had to file an emergency temporary restraining order against her label 1501 Certified Entertainment in order to release this remix, per Billboard. She alleges that the label — which she has seemingly had a fraught relationship with — tried to block the remix from coming out. A judge ruled in favor of Thee Stallion’s request, allowing for the song’s official release, according to the report.
Listen to “Butter (Remix)” below.
Belly — See You Next Wednesday
It’s been three years since Belly released his Immigrant LP. Now, the XO emcee unleashes his newest album, See You Next Wednesday.
The new collection of songs includes two collaborations with frequent partner-in-crime, The Weeknd. Abel appears on the big single “Better Believe,” of course. That song also features Young Thug. Later, Mr. Tesfaye pops back up on the Nas collaboration, “Die For It.”
But the album also includes appearances from other big names, including Big Sean, Moneybagg Yo, Benny The Butcher, Gunna, Lil Uzi Vert, and NAV. The latter also appears as a producer on the LP, along with The ANMLS, DANNYBOYSTYLES, Zaytoven, Ben Billions, Infamous, and Belly himself.
“This album was me really trying to find my footing again and trying to be comfortable making music,” Belly explained in an interview with NME. “I was drifting away from music and had been for a long time. I needed to unlearn a few things and try making music again. At a point, I just had no emotional currency left. I had to get myself together to be able to even get stuff out. It was a tough mission, but with this album the more and more I created, the more I was able to loosen up.”
Stream See You Next Wednesday below.
Kehlani — Cloud 19
Kehlani is taking fans on a trip down memory lane with the release of her debut mixtape Cloud 19, which is now available for streaming on major DSPs for the first time since its release. The news comes on the project’s 7th anniversary.
“Nothing will ever feel like Cloud 19 felt,” Kehlani said on social media. “Signing CDs and handing them out up and down the street. giving people my first body of work. leading to my first tours. what a special day im EMOTIONAL!”
When the project first came out, Kehlani talked about what it meant to release a cohesive body of work in order to make a strong first impression, rather than just releasing any and everything she made.
“You don’t have to rush, especially not with your first project,” she explained during an interview with KMEL back then. “You really want people to grasp you for you. So I took a step back, re-focused on what I wanted the music to sound like…rather than just getting a collection of songs that I liked and putting it out…I ended up taking a step back from that and we got Cloud 19.”
Now, the offering is available to stream. Listen to Cloud 19 below.
Lil Tecca — We Love You Tecca 2
Lil Tecca came on the scene with a smash on 2019’s We Love You Tecca. And one year after dropping his Virgo World project, the “Ransom” star returns with a sequel to the original with We Love You Tecca 2.
The new 20-song LP features Gunna, iann dior, Chief Keef, Trippie Redd, NAV, and Lil Yachty. It also includes production from his frequent collaborators from the Internet Money collective, including Nick Mira and Taz Taylor.
Tecca recently spoke with GQ about the difference between this project and his previous work. “I ain’t gonna lie. This one feels way more like I have guidance, and just a direction,” he explained. “With Virgo World, everything just felt like the lights were off. Like I didn’t know where to go. I felt like I had no sort of direction for myself. But, for this one? It definitely feels way better.”
Stream We Love You Tecca 2 below.
